What's the Name of the Game
by Sally White
Summary: With the happiness of love also comes the doubt of how strong those feelings of love are that are directed to ones self, as one Soul Reaper is about to find out. song from Mamma Mia SentaroxKiyone slight IchiRuki


Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the songs _The Name of the Game_ by Abba and from the movie _Momma Mia! _

**What's the Name of the Game?**

**By: Sally White (a.k.a. RDH)**

It was a quiet, uneventful day in Seireitei in Soul Society. It was a day that most Soul Reapers would tell you is boring. Many of the younger members of the Gotei 13 were fidgeting and doing little tasks to entertain themselves. They were itching for a Hollow attack or for a brawl to break out. Anything to keep themselves occupied and keep their minds off of their boredom. Some had even gone to the lengths to play with the Lieutenant of the 11th Squad, Yachiru Kusajishi. …yeah, they were bored. Extremely so. And some were about to crack from it.

One of those people was Sentaro Kotsubaki of Squad 13. He sat on the porch that went around the Squad building, arms crossed, with a piece of straw hanging from his lips. He let out a growl and uncrossed his arms to toss the piece of straw aside. He stood up and leaned back a bit to crack his back. Then he straightened and looked around. _I wonder where Kiyone is,_ he thought. He smirked as he thought about his short-haired girl he shared his Seat with.

It had been a week since their incident in the library, where he'd found her sleep-talking and overheard her mumbling something about him and her feelings about him. He had felt elated, so he'd woken her up and teased her a bit before kissing her, having every reason to kiss her after what he'd heard. They hadn't changed all that much since then. They still fought and argued, and they still tried to get more of Captain Ukitake's attention than the other. But when they were alone, they held hands and cuddled and kissed. And when he could get away with it, he pushed her up against a wall and stole kisses while no one was around in the Squad building.

They had never, however, actually had any official confessions of affection to each other. Sentaro didn't know whether to be upset or relieved about that. He'd never been comfortable with talking about feelings out loud. On the other hand, though, he knew that Kiyone was probably not too happy with it. He knew she liked him a lot, and that filled him with warmth, but he also knew that she might even love him and that made him nervous. He knew that he liked her a lot, had known that for a long while, but as for love…he had no clue if he loved her.

Feeling his boredom prick at him, he shook his previous thoughts off and decided to look for Kiyone. He could sense someone around the corner and went to see who it was. He turned the corner and was surprised to see Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki sharing a gentle, innocent kiss. Feeling his face heating up, Sentaro quickly turned his head away and cleared his throat.

The two jerked apart, faces red with embarrassment at being caught. Rukia was the first to compose herself and looked at the boy who had caught her kissing Ichigo. "Hello, Sentaro. How are you?"

He looked at them, feeling sheepish and slightly guilty. "Um, well, I'm good…So, um, hey, have either of you seen Kiyone lately?"

"Well, I sensed her leaving the grounds about an hour ago, but I didn't see where she was going," Ichigo told him, finally having composed himself.

Sentaro nodded. "Right. Thanks." He hesitated before adding, "And I'm sorry for…er…interrupting." Then he walked past them quickly, not really wanting to be around them any longer. He heard Ichigo say as he left, "Well, that was awkward."

Sentaro spent the rest of the day looking for Kiyone. It seemed as though no one knew where she was, not even her own sister, Isane. As the sun was going down he felt frustrated and headed to the woods just outside of the Squad 13 grounds that served as training grounds. He had just gone a little ways into the woods when he felt it; Kiyone's Spiritual Pressure. He shunpoed towards it and saw her.

She was sitting on the top of a hill, watching the sun as it set. Her short hair was ruffled by the light breeze, and the light of the setting sun made her shine. Her expression was one of anxiousness and contemplation.

He quickly hid his own Spiritual Pressure so that Kiyone wouldn't sense him. _She doesn't look like she would be exactly thrilled if I tried to go to her right now,_ he thought, getting ready to leave but stopped when heard her sigh. It sounded almost…sad.

"Oh, Sentaro," she sighed, and he panicked for a moment, thinking she had sensed him. Then he realized that she was more or less talking to herself. "I don't know what to do," she went on. "This last week has been one of the happiest of my life, and I'm so glad that you seem to like me so much. But I'm worried. I know how I feel about you, but I have no idea how you feel about me. I don't know if you even like me. For all I know you might just like kissing me and being able to hold me." Tears welled up in her eyes but she blinked them away.

He felt his heart sinking at every word she said. None of it was true, mind you, but it still made him feel bad that she even considered that about him. He was about to go and correct her about it, but stilled when she started talking again.

"I just I knew where we stand with each other," she continued. "I just want to know if this means anything or if it's just…something to pass the time. I mean, are we in a secret relationship, or are we just, like…make-out partners…" She blinked rapidly, no doubt trying to hold back tears. "I'm just really confused."

_And now so am I,_ he thought, feeling helpless.

She sat there for awhile, still and silent, then she began to sing, her voice soft, "I've seen you twice in a short time. Only a day since we started."

She stood up slowly, singing, "It seems to me, for every time, I'm getting more open-hearted."

She closed her eyes and turned her face to the sky, smiling warmly, and sang, "Your smile and the sound of your voice, and the way you see through me. Got a feeling you give me no choice, and it seems right to me. So I wanna know…"

She opened her eyes and sang in a loud voice, "What's the name of the game? Does it mean anything to you? What's the name of the game? Do you feel it the way that I do?"

She clasped her hands in front of herself and sang, "Help me, please, 'cause I have to know. I'm a curious child, just starting to grow."

She smiled and sang, "'Cause you make me talk, and you make me feel, and you make me show what I'm trying to conceal." The corners of her mouth turned down slightly as she sang, "If I trust in you would you let me down? Would you laugh at me if I said I cared for you?" Her hands were over her heart as she looked at the sky, singing, "Could you feel the same way, too? I wanna know…the name of the game."

He stared at her. He didn't know she could sing! And so good, too. He didn't know the song, but he could recognize that it was directed towards him, even though she didn't know that he was there.

She crossed her arms around her middle and looked off to the side at the ground. She sang, "I have no friends, no one to see, and I am never invited."

She looked up and sang, a small smile on her lips, "So I am here, talking to you. No wonder I get excited."

She looked at the sky and sang, "Your smile and the sound of your voice, and the way you see through me. Got a feeling you give me no choice, and it seems right to me. So I wanna know…"

"What's the name of the game?" she sang, a slight furrow between her eyebrows. "Does it mean anything to you? What's the name of the game? Do you feel it the way that I do?"

She looked down and sang, "Help me, please, 'cause I have to know. I'm a curious child, just starting to grow."

She closed her eyes and sang, "'Cause you make me talk, and you make me feel, and you make me show what I'm trying to conceal."

She opened her eyes and looked at the sky, singing, "If I trust in you would you let me down? Would you laugh at me if I said I cared for you?" Her eyes teared up again. "Could you feel the same way, too? I wanna know…" She closed her eyes and sang with passion, "Oh, yes, I wanna know…the name of the game!"

She spread her arms and sang desperately, "Does it mean anything to you?? What's the name of the game? Do you feel it the way that I do??"

She let her arms drop to her sides and hung her head, taking in a shaky breath. Then she wrapped her arms around her middle and dropped to her knees as her shoulders shook with silent sobs. "Oh, Sentaro," she whispered, broken.

Sentaro clenched his teeth and fisted his hands. He wanted to go to Kiyone, to take her in his arms and kiss her tears away, to let her know that everything was going to be alright…but he couldn't. He had to first figure out his own feelings before he could reassure her. He turned around and walked away to go his room. He had a lot of thinking to do. _It's gonna be a long night,_ he thought with a sigh.

That night Sentaro walked around the Squad, unable to sleep, contemplating things in his mind. All he could think about was Kiyone and how she was hurting inside because they both didn't know how he really felt about her. He groaned and turned to hit his head on a wall. "This sucks," he muttered irritatedly.

"Must be pretty bad if you're hitting your head on a wall," a voice commented.

Sentaro turned his head to glare at the person. "Shut up, Ichigo, no one asked you."

The orange-haired boy just shrugged. "I'm just saying." He sat down against the wall. "So, what's going on that's got you hitting your head against a wall?"

Sentaro sighed loudly and sat down close to Ichigo with a thump. He told the substitute Soul Reaper everything, from the incident at the library a week ago to what he had seen and heard earlier that evening. When he was finished he slumped against the wall. "And now I don't know what to do. I'm not sure if I love her or if I just like her a lot… But I'm not just using her as a make-out partner, I swear!"

"I believe you," Ichigo assured him. "I see why you were inclined to hitting your head against a wall…"

"Can you help me?" Sentaro asked, almost begging.

Ichigo shook his head. "No way, man. This is your problem, not mine. Besides, I can't decide what you feel for you. Only you know." He scratched the back of his head. "At least that's what Rukia's always telling me these days…"

Sentaro leaned his head back on the wall. "Was it like this for you?"

"You mean with Rukia?" Ichigo asked. When Sentaro nodded the orange-haired boy told him, "No, it was actually the other way around. She was the one who had to figure out how she felt. I was the one who was an emotional wreck." He gave the other boy a sharp look. "That doesn't leave this area, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sentaro said, waving his hand. He sighed. "So what do I do now?"

"I don't know, I guess you figure out if you love her or not," Ichigo told him, shrugging. "Just think about it." He got to his feet. "Well, I gotta go. Rukia's expecting me back soon. Later, Sentaro." He left, calling over his shoulder, "Good luck with Kiyone."

"Yeah, thanks," Sentaro muttered. He sighed again and looked up at the stars. "Just think about it, huh?" He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to everything he thought of and felt when he was with Kiyone…

In her quarters, Kiyone sat on her couch miserably sipping some tea from the cup in her hands. She sighed and set the cup on the floor, then pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her calves. She set her chin on her knees and stared blankly ahead, trying not to think lest she make herself cry again. She regretted making herself so upset over this. _I should be grateful that he does what he does with me,_ she thought. _I shouldn't be this upset over something so dumb like this. Who needs a confession, anyways? _She groaned and rested her forehead on her knees. _Aw, who am I trying to kid? I'm not fooling myself._

Suddenly there was a knocking on her door. She lifted her head to stare at the door. _Who would still be up at this time at night?_ she wondered.

The knocking repeated, a little more urgent this time.

She let go of her legs and set her feet on the floor, slowly standing up. She retied the obi of the light-material robe she wore over her nightgown and made her way over to the door. "I'm coming," she called weakly, trying to keep from letting more tears escape.

The knocking become incessant, not stopping at all.

"Hang on a second!" she snapped, getting mad. "Stupid person, not letting me have some peace and quiet," she rambled angrily, reaching for the door. She opened it and gasped, her eyes going wide, when she saw who it was.

Sentaro stood outside of her door, panting as though he had run a very long ways. He was bent over, trying to catch his breath. He looked very worn out.

She was by him in a second. "Sentaro! What are you doing here this way? Are you okay? Did something happen? Is something wrong?" She put her hands on his back. "Speak to me, Sentaro!"

"Woman, if you don't stop asking questions and shut up I swear it'll have bad results," he growled, glaring at her as he straightened up.

She rolled her eyes as she moved away from him. "Yep, you're fine." She looked up at him. "What are you doing here this late?"

"I need to talk to you," he told her, his tone urgent.

She sighed. "Sentaro, please, not now. It's not a good time. I haven't had a good day and I just want to go to bed. We can talk tomorrow, okay?" She stepped back inside and started to close the door.

He grabbed the door and forced her not to shut it. "No, Kiyone, we need to talk now. It's really important."

"I'm not in the mood, Sentaro," she said, her voice getting sharp.

"Don't use that tone with me, woman," he warned, narrowing his eyes.

"What do you care?!" she snapped, all the stress from the day letting itself out. "What do you care about anything I do?!"

He stepped inside and slammed the door shut behind himself. He grabbed her by her upper arms and pushed her against the door, getting close to her so that his face was right in front of hers. "I care plenty, alright?" he growled, his eyes darkening. He shoved his lips on hers, kissing her with a great intensity and passion that he hadn't kissed her with before.

She froze, feeling frightened by this new emotion Sentaro was showing. She closed her eyes tight as she began to tremble just barely. His grip on her arms tightened, and a single tear slipped out of her eye.

He parted from her lips and kissed her tear away. He put his arms around her and embraced her, not too tight but just enough so that she wouldn't be able to get away. She stared up at him, not too sure what to think.

"I promise, Kiyone, I won't make you cry because of me again," he said softly, his gaze gentle. He touched his forehead to hers. "I don't want you to hurt because of me anymore."

"Sentaro," Kiyone started.

"I'm sorry for being an idiot and not saying anything," he continued. "I should've known that it would only upset you. But you don't have to be upset anymore." He smiled at her, brushing her nose with his. "I love you, Kiyone."

She drew in a sharp breath and stared up at him. "What…"

"I love you," he told her. He chuckled. "Now am I going to get a response?"

She playfully whacked him over his head. "Idiot." She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled softly at him. "I love you too, Sentaro."

"Good," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her again.

She broke away from his mouth. "So does this make up a couple now?"

"What do you think?" he playfully said in a gruff voice, kissing her neck.

"So I can tell people that we're together?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," he mumbled, kissing up to her cheek. "By the way," he smirked at her, "the name of the game is love, I do believe."

She blushed. "You heard me?!"

He chuckled. "Yeah. Don't worry about it, hon, you sounded great." Before she could protest he drew her into another kiss, which she gladly returned, knowing that the game they played by was love.

**The End**

Cheesey ending, I know. Please review. Peace


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